Month: May 2016

This image taken from a time lapse sequence aboard the space station shows the Milky Way and a lightning strike on Earth.

The International Space Station completed its 100,000th orbit early this morning after its first component, the Zarya cargo module, launched Nov. 20, 1998. That is over 2.6 billion miles traveled, nearly the distance from Earth to Neptune (2.9 billion miles), or ten round trips from Mars to Earth.

A few hours after the station reached this morning’s orbital benchmark, a several types of Cubesats were deployed from the Kibo lab module’s airlock. More Cubesats will deployed through Wednesday contributing to a wide variety of research designed by students and scientists.

The crew is measuring the grip strength of mice today for the Rodent Research experiment. That study is exploring an antibody used on Earth that may prevent the weakening of muscles and bones in space.

A laptop computer is being readied ahead of next week’s expansion of the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM). The computer will monitor sensors and prepare for upcoming BEAM operations.

British astronaut Tim Peake unpacks science gear for an experiment that is researching how the lack of gravity affects the fluid shifts and pressure inside a crew member’s head.

Two NASA astronauts and a European Space Agency astronaut are relaxing today after sending the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft home Wednesday. The three cosmonauts continued their ongoing Russian research work and maintenance activities after taking Monday off in observation of Victory Day.

The Japanese Kibo lab’s airlock is being depressurized today before a series a nanosatellites are deployed beginning Monday morning. The Cubesats, which will be deployed Monday through Wednesday, will support Earth observation experiments.

On the Russian side of the International Space Station, the cosmonauts inspected windows and photographed the internal condition of the segment’s modules. They also explored new photography techniques to improve the ability to locate and picture landmarks on the Earth’s surface.

The Expedition 47 crew members are back at work today conducting research to benefit humans in space and on Earth. While microgravity science is underway on the International Space Station, a series of completed experiments are back on Earth after returning Wednesday inside the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft.

NASA astronaut Jeff Williams is configuring the Japanese Kibo lab module today for another deployment of Earth observation nanosatellites scheduled for early next week. Cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka joined British astronaut Tim Peake readying hardware for the Rodent Research study that will observe how muscles and bones are affected by weightlessness.

Commander Tim Kopra set up hardware today for the NeuroMapping study that is researching how living in space changes brain structure and function. Cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin videotaped crew activities to document living on the station. Veteran cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko explored how natural and man-made phenomena affect the Earth’s atmosphere.

“Dragon recovery team on site after nominal splashdown in Pacific.” Credit: @SpaceX

SpaceX’s Dragon cargo craft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 2:51 p.m. EDT, about 261 miles southwest of Long Beach, California, marking the end of the company’s eighth contracted cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station.

A boat will take the Dragon spacecraft to a port near Los Angeles, where some cargo will be removed and returned to NASA within 48 hours. Dragon will be prepared for a return journey to SpaceX’s test facility in McGregor, Texas, for processing. Dragon is currently the only space station resupply spacecraft able to return a significant amount of cargo to Earth at this time.

Dragon is returning more than 3,700 pounds of NASA cargo and science samples from a variety of technological and biological studies about the International Space Station. The Microchannel Diffusion study, which investigated fluids at the nanoscale, or atomic level, holds promise for a wide range of technologies. Nanofluidic sensors could measure the makeup of space station air, or be used to deliver drugs to specific places in the body, for example. This type of research is possible only on the space station, where Earth’s gravity is not strong enough to interact with sample molecules, so they behave more like they would at the nanoscale. Knowledge gleaned from the investigation may have implications for drug delivery, particle filtration and future technological applications for space exploration.

Cameras on the Canadarm2 show the SpaceX Dragon as it departs the vicinity of the space station just after its release. Credit: NASA TV

The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft was released from the International Space Station’s robotic arm at 9:19 a.m. EDT. The capsule will begin a series of departure burns and maneuvers to move beyond the 656-foot (200-meter) “keep out sphere” around the station and begin its return trip to Earth. The capsule is currently scheduled to splashdown in the Pacific Ocean at 2:55 p.m., about 261 miles southwest of Long Beach, California.

The spacecraft will return the final batch of human research samples from former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly’s historic one-year mission. These samples will be analyzed for studies such as Biochemical Profile, Cardio Ox, Fluid Shifts, Microbiome, Salivary Markers and the Twins Study. Additional samples taken on the ground as Kelly continues to support these studies will provide insights relevant for the Journey to Mars as NASA learns more about how the human body adjusts to weightlessness, isolation, radiation and the stress of long-duration spaceflight.

The SpaceX Dragon cargo ship is seen arriving at the International Space Station April 10 before it is captured and installed to the Harmony module.

NASA Television will provide live coverage of the departure of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft from the International Space Station beginning at 9 a.m. EDT. Dragon was detached from the Earth-facing side of the station’s Harmony module earlier this morning. Robotics controllers will maneuver Dragon into place and Expedition 47 robotic arm operator Tim Peake of ESA (European Space Agency) will execute the command for its 9:18 a.m. release.

Dragon arrived at the space station April 10 after launching April 8 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida carrying almost 7,000 pounds of supplies and cargo on the company’s eighth commercial resupply mission to the station.

Release of the spacecraft by the station’s robotic arm will begin the Dragon’s return to Earth carrying more than 3,700 pounds of NASA cargo and science samples from human research, biology and biotechnology studies, physical science investigations and education activities sponsored by NASA and the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, the nonprofit organization responsible for managing research aboard the U.S. national laboratory portion of the space station.

The capsule is currently scheduled to splashdown in the Pacific Ocean about 2:55 p.m., approximately 261 miles southwest of Long Beach, California.

The Expedition 47 crew poses for the 3 millionth image taken aboard the International Space Station.

The SpaceX Dragon cargo ship is ending its stay tomorrow at the International Space Station. The commercial cargo craft has been packed with about 3,700 pounds of cargo, spacewalk gear and biological samples for analysis on Earth.

While the astronauts in the U.S. segment loaded Dragon, their Russian counterparts conducted research exploring diverse fields such as physics, biology and human research. They researched how space radiation affects materials that simulate human tissue for the long-running Matryeshka study. The crew also looked at how the space environment affects a crew member’s carotid artery and immune system.

The SpaceX Dragon is in the center right of the image attached to the Harmony module. The Japanese Kibo lab module, with its robotic arm and Exposed Facility, dominates the foreground. Credit: NASA TV

The SpaceX Dragon is being packed with critical science today and tomorrow before its release and splashdown on Wednesday. The crew is also reviewing Dragon departure procedures and training for its release from the grip of the Canadarm2 robotic arm.

Dragon is currently attached to the Harmony module. After it is uninstalled early Wednesday with the 57.7 foot Canadarm2, the Dragon will be released at 9:18 a.m. EDT for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean at 2:55 p.m. NASA TV will broadcast the release and departure activities live, however the splashdown and recovery work will not be televised.

A pair of science freezers carrying experiment samples for analysis will be removed from the space station and returned to Earth inside Dragon. The commercial space freighter is returning a variety of science and gear for NASA.

The Russian cosmonauts are relaxing today in observance of Victory Day when Germany surrendered to the Soviet Union on May 9, 1945, ending World War II. The astronauts in the U.S. segment of the station continued science work, Dragon packing and robotics training for Wednesday’s release activities.

The very bottom tip of Africa is imaged here as captured by the crew of the International Space Station on April 3rd, 2016. South Africa’s capitol Cape Town is located at the bottom left of this beautiful Earth picture captured on a sunny day.

Expedition 47 continues exploring how the lack of gravity affects astronauts and technology to help NASA plan longer missions farther out into space. Meanwhile, the Canadian Space Agency’s robotic arm, Canadarm2, has been maneuvered into position before it releases the SpaceX Dragon on Wednesday.

The crew set up the Fluid Shifts experiment again today utilizing a specialized body suit. The suit measures fluid movements between the upper and lower body. These fluid shifts have been known to increase head pressure potentially affecting a crew member’s eyesight.

Surface and air samples were taken today inside the International Space Station to study the diversity of microbes on the orbital lab. Hardware was also set up to download imagery taken for the Strata-1 study which is exploring how soil from other planetary bodies might behave. That research may help scientists design future spacesuits and space gear.

SpaceX is getting ready for the release and splashdown of its Dragon cargo craft on May 11. The 57.7-foot Canadarm2 robotic arm is inspecting Dragon’s thermal protection system and will grapple the spacecraft later today.

Oblique south-looking view of the main Bahama island chain as seen from the International Space Station.

The astronauts onboard the International Space Station are researching how microgravity affects fluid shifts in a crew member’s body. Ground controllers are also guiding Canada’s robotic arm into position before next week’s grapple and release of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.

The Fluid Shifts experiment will wrap up operations this week with the crew wearing specialized body suits. The suits, known as Chibis Lower Body Negative Pressure devices, measure how fluids move from the lower body to the upper body while living in space. The research also observes fluid shifts in and out of cells and blood vessels which may impact head pressure potentially affecting vision.

Robotics controllers are remotely guiding the Canadarm2 to the Harmony module where it will grapple Dragon ahead of the spacecraft’s May 11 release and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. Yesterday, the controllers surveyed the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer’s condition with the Canadarm2 and its cameras.

Cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka is on his second mission aboard the space station. His first mission during Expedition 25/26 lasted 159 days. Currently, he is Expedition 47 Flight Engineer and today is his 47th day aboard the orbital lab since his March arrival with fellow crew members Jeff Williams and Alexey Ovchinin.